Reaper: Origins
by Theta 'Krypto' Nigma
Summary: Things are going well for Danny Phantom before Venom drops  literally  into Amity Park and takes an interest in the crime fighter. Destruction follows as Danny learns what it truly means to be a hero. After Phantom Planet AU. My new #1 Priority!
1. Venoms Arrival

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Venom.**

**A/N: I was going to do something similar to this in my story the Final Battle but nobody was reading it and I really wanted to do this so….here ya go! This takes place after the episode Phantom Planet. There are two AU changes. Only Danny, a few ghosts, and Team Phantom (everyone aware of Danny's secret) remembered and Sam and Danny didn't kiss or anything. But don't worry DxS phans, that'll come. REVIEW!**

**Chapter 1: Arrival**

**By Theta Nigma of Parallex**

_That fool was useless _thought Venom as he left the dying Marc Gorgon behind and hid himself into the shadows.

_What I need is a powerful and younger host_ he thought. _That way I'll last longer, be able to control them longer, and gain something more than these meagre spider powers._

Gazing into the sky Venom watched as a comet harmlessly approached the planet Earth.

_Perfect._

…

Venom smiled as it seemed this was his day. A space shuttle was leaving not to far away from his current position. The perfect way to get to his destination.

Transforming into a less solid form he slipped past a few waiting astronauts and slipped easily into the shuttle. A few minutes later the spacecraft had left the atmosphere.

_Time for step two._

Being as silent as possible Venom slipped to the front of the shuttle. After a bit of fiddling with the controls he managed to get the craft on the course he needed for the third and fourth steps of his plan.

Venom slipped as close to the shuttles as he possibly could and a few minutes later he heard the words he had been waiting for.

"My god!" one of the astronauts yelled. "We're about to hit that comet!"

…

Leaving the shattered space shuttle and the astronauts corpses behind as he clung to the comet as it continued towards its unknown destination.

It took many days but finally Venom felt joy as the comet left the solar system behind. Finally he was free of the weak potential hosts that lived within the yellow sons glow. He was now free to reach a new planet and discover a new species to control.

The symbiotic creature did not truly realize how far away this new planet would be until it had reached the comets destination. A Black Hole.

At first sight of this disastrous singularity Venom considered abandoning the small comet and finding his own destination, but than stopped these thoughts. Venom was not a creature well known for fear.

The evil creature clung onto the small comet as he entered the hole in time and space and felt reality itself flow through the very fabric of his own existence.

…

Vlad Masters (AKA Vlad Plasmius) was not happy by any definition of the word.

His plan to destroy the disasteroid and take what he believed to be his rightful place as the Earths rulers had failed completely.

He had watched as once again Danny saved Earth itself and than insured that nobody but those who already knew his identity (plus a few ghosts) remembered the event.

Vlad gave a mirthless laugh. In many ways Danny was his opposite in every single way. The hero vs. the villain.

At that moment, Vlad watched in fear as a hole in the very fabric of the universe. This fear was unnecessary however as the hole merely spat out a load of crushed matter and than closed without a sound.

Vlad immediately became disinterested in the trash the hole had spat out until he noticed something very unusual. A pile of black sludge that had appeared completely torn moments before had pulled itself back together and was currently travelling towards the planet blow.

On nothing but instinct and a sudden fear Vlad hid himself as well as possible into the meteorite he was being forced to call his home. Although Vlad could be defined as not-a-good-guy he could literally feel the evil permeating off the black sludge moving past him.

…

_So evil it was spat out by hell itself _thought Venom with a cruel laugh. It was time for the final phase of his plan to begin. It was time to find a host.

….

Danny Fenton believed he had a pretty good life. He was still unable to show his ghost-hunting parents he was half-ghost and due to his late night crime-fighting his grades weren't that good. And most importantly he couldn't tell the girl he had loved for years how he felt but other than those rather important things Danny's life was awesome.

Danny was walking home alone (his friends weren't there because he had received detention after school and were already home) when he saw an old woman being mugged.

Danny quickly transformed into his superhero identity Danny Phantom and scared the mugger off before returning the woman's purse and flying the rest of the way home.

….

Initially Venom had been upset to discover the planet he had landed on was merely another version of his own planet Earth. However this had changed as he watched Danny Phantom fly by from his hiding place in a dark alley.

_Perfect._

…..

**A/N: REVIEW!**


	2. The Joining

**Disclaimer: I do not own Venom or Danny Phantom because if I did Danny Phantom the show would never have been cancelled. **

**A/N: No-one is currently inside Venom, he is host less…for now.**

**Chapter 2: The Joining**

**By Theta Nigma of Amity**

Venom had been spying on young Danny for over a week now and he had still not found the proper opportunity to join with the Ghost Boy.

_I need to get him to trust me,_ Venom thought. _That way it will be easier for me to take full control before he realizes what a danger I am to him_.

Venom, like all symbiotes required a special chemical to survive, found only in chocolate or the human brain.

Although Venom would have preferred feasting on the craniums of these innocent townspeople, he had decided it was best not to make a fuss and had instead been slinking through the many stores of Amity eating chocolate.

_Just a bit more of this, _Venom thought as he chewed disdainfully on a piece of chocolate, _and the Ghost Boy will be mine_.

Venom decided he deserved a small treat for his labours and a few hours later the body of a homeless man was discovered by the people of Amity Park.

…

"Danny, are you feeling alright?"

The reason this question was asked because Danny Fenton was not a very studious person and yet he was surrounded by books and was reading non-stop.

"Not funny Tucker," Danny replied to his best friend Tucker Foley. "This is really important. If I want to be an astronaut than I have to start working."

"Danny's right," put in Samantha Manson, the gothic girl who was Danny Fenton's other best friend. "If we want to get to university we have to stop sulking and start suffering through our studies."

It might be interesting to note the previously mentioned girl that Danny loves is Sam.

"Was it really necessary to use 's' so many times it that sentence?" asked Tucker.

Sam than began hitting herself with one of the books while shouting 'Damn Poetry' over and over again.

Unfortunately, this incredibly _useful _study session was not to last as Danny suddenly breathed a white mist. In the middle of a rather warm August afternoon.

"Why can't they ever leave me alone," he groaned as his two friends made sure there was no one else in the area.

"I'M GOING GHOST!" Danny cried as a silver ring appeared around his mid-section and split off to cover his entire body.

Where a second ago there had been standing average 16-year-old Danny Fenton there now stood the deputized Superhero and half-human half ghost hybrid Danny Phantom.

A second after Danny's transformation had occurred the Ghost Danny had sensed earlier landed in front of them.

"It is I, Technus 2.0. Master of All Mach…ahhh!"

Before the rather gloaty ghost could finish his overlong introduction Danny blasted him with an Ecto-Ray from the palm of his hand.

"Will you ever stop talking about yourself Technus?" Danny laughed.

He immediately stopped laughing as he turned to make sure his friends were ok only to discover them lying on the ground unconscious.

"Time to play Baby-Pop!" he heard as he was slammed through the wall of a nearby building.

….

_Excellent work _thought Venom as he watched Ember and Technus ganging up on Danny Phantom. _Normally I'm not one for hiring lackeys but this is the perfect way to push my plans forward._

Venom watched Danny slam through yet another wall and decided that his moment of conquest was at hand.

….

As Danny was pummelled by Technus' ghost energy the cybernetic ghost began to gloat again.

"There is no way you will defeat us this time Ghost Child. Our temporary master will be most pleased with our work."

It was Technus' turn to be hit by ghost energy but this time it came from Ember's guitar.

"You moron!" she screamed, her hair bursting into raging flame. "Why did I ever agree to work with you?"

"Because of the ludicrous amount of money and resources that.." As Technus continued explaining the plans of there financer in detail Ember and Danny once again fell into mortal combat.

"Who are you working for?" Danny cried as he deflected a powerful blast from Embers guitar.

"I'm not Technus!" (I heard that!) Ember shouted back as she swung her guitar like an axe into Danny's side causing him to collapse onto the ground and shift back into his human form.

At that moment a pool of black slime began to creep its way towards Danny. It stopped just before it reached his inert body and seemed to rise up enough to make a short nodding motion just before it slipped down Danny's throat.

Danny suddenly burst from the ground and transformed back into his ghost form.

He felt more powerful than ever. Glancing forward at Ember who looked ready to attack he blasted her back before turning around just in time to grab Technus by the throat as he flew towards him. Danny quickly flipped open the Fenton Thermos and sucked Technus inside.

Setting down the Thermos Danny turned his attentions back to Ember who was charging towards him for another attack.

Danny was ready for her and unleashed a massive two-handed blast of Ecto-Energy towards her. The blast instantly dropped her to the ground but the energy was still coming and would soon destroy Ember.

Danny, not wishing to do anything of the sort, forced his hand into the air and let the energy release itself harmlessly into the atmosphere. By the time Danny was able to turn his attentions back to the ground Ember had left. He had also failed to notice the reddish tint his Ecto-Blast had had.

Sighing with relief Danny suddenly noticed Sam and Tucker still lying unconscious on the ground.

Racing towards them he shouted "SAM!" and then almost as an afterthought shouted "TUCKER!"

Sam was the first to awaken and the first thing she noticed was that the D symbol she had personally placed on Danny's chest had been replaced by a blood-red V.

"Danny, what's with the V?"

"What," Danny said, surprised by the question. Glancing down he was shocked to seethe Von his chest, looking as if it had always been there.

The second thing Sam noticed (but the most impressionable thing on her teenage mind) was the fact that Danny was slightly more lean and muscular than he had been only moments before.

Tucker finally awoke at this moment and cried. "No, I didn't mean it! Don't eat me Giant Pizzas!"

…

**A/N: I thought that last line would be a light hearted and amusing ending. Something soft to help you deal with the cold darkness to come. REVIEW!**


	3. Moods Swinging and Web Slinging

**Disclaimer: I own this story.**

**A/N: This story has become my top priority because it is the one I enjoy to write the most. Yea! BTW, in my fic ghosts can die. This is because they are life forms in their own right, but instead of being made of flesh and bone they are made of ectoplasm. REVIEW!**

**Chapter 3: Web Slinging and Moods Swinging **

**By Theta Nigma of Amity**

Danny Fenton was not feeling too well.

"I don't feel too well," said a rather pale looking Danny as he came down from his room the next morning.

After he and Sam had managed to calm down Tucker and drag him home they had been forced to end their study secession and head back home for dinner. As Danny had flown home he had felt magnificent. The V that had replaced the D on his chest had bothered him only briefly as he had flown home at speeds he had never before reached.

Then, as he lay on his bed back home, he had felt a nearly irresistible pull drawing him to go outside and track down Ember so that he could finish her off.

Danny had been horrified as the thought had slipped into his mind and was still just as horrified as his mother ran over to see if he was sick.

"Oh dear, your burning up," Madeline Fenton said as she felt his forehead.

Upon hearing this Danny thought, _No! I can't miss the test! _Not a second after this thought had passed through his head Danny felt a small tingly feeling and suddenly the heat disappear entirely. He managed to convince his mother to place her hand on his head a second time who was shocked to discover how cool it was.

"Danny, are you sure you're felling alright," she asked for about the tenth time.

"I'm fine Mom," Danny replied just as his father, Jack Fenton, came running up from the basement holding yet another crazy invention.

"I call it the Fenton Ghost Seeker!" he shouted as he ran into the kitchen holding the little silver gun-shaped ghost-fighting weapon.

"The second I pull this trigger any nearby ghost'll blow to smithereens!" and before Maddie could stop him he had pulled the trigger.

Danny immediately dived under the table to avoid being killed by the ghost-fighting weapon (he was half-ghost after all).

Danny was shocked at the lack of some sort of explosive noise that usually followed such a presentation. He popped his head up cautiously to see his Dad standing proudly in front of him with an air of confidence.

"I DID IT!" he cried. "I've finally created a ghost-hunting weapon that doesn't spontaneously combust or go after Danny (I still can't figure out why the Ghost-Tracker keeps pointing at him) on its first test run!"

While Maddie congratulated her husband Danny gulped down his breakfast and ran out the door, wary of his Dad testing out some other weapons.

All these things were beginning to freak Danny out. Things had been off-normal (if you called Danny's life normal, which he did) since that battle he had with Ember and Technus 2.0 yesterday. He needed to figure out what was going on.

_First things first Fenton _he thought as he pulled out his study book on his way to school and began reading as quickly as possible. _I need to start acing tests today, no buts._

His ghost sense was strangely silent as he made his way to Casper High.

…

Danny quickly slid into his desk just a second before the bell rang.

"Congratulations Mr. Fenton," spoke Mr. Lancer, the teacher of Danny's class. "You have finally succeeded in showing up on time for class. Now let's see if you can actually pass the test."

Danny panicked as the test was put in front of him. He had absolutely no idea what to write down. _I need a miracle _he thought.

Suddenly he once again felt the same tingling feeling he had felt this morning and his hand was moving, writing down answers that Danny knew to be completely correct. He completed the test 10 minutes before anyone else and was surprised to find himself smiling when he handed it in.

…

A few minutes later Danny was enjoying lunch with Sam and Tucker (who was keeping his distance from pizzas of any kind) and was in a very good mood after the test as Mr. Lancer had told him he had received a 100% on the test.

"Did you cheat Danny," Sam said suddenly after they sat down.

"I didn't cheat Sam," Danny replied in a slightly angered tone. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. Maybe because we had to cut off the study session early and yet somehow you managed to scrap the first 100 you've gotten since Middle School." she said.

Tucker opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly cut off as Danny started shouting about untrusting friends before he turned heel and stomped off.

"Sam," cried Tucker. "Why did you have to have a go at Danny?"

"It wasn't like I shouted at him," she replied in a cool tone. "I was just worried Danny might be cheating and wanted to make sure he wasn't." "I'll apologize later," she added as Tucker continued to (uncharacteristically) glare at her.

But an opportunity to apologize never came as Danny avoided even looking at Sam and Tucker for the rest of the day. Then as school ended he disappeared before either of them could find him.

…..

Standing invisible behind a corner Danny watched as his best friends searched in vain for him before being forced to depart for home.

_Maybe I should talk to them, _he thought as he watched the two leave.

_**No, **_replied a louder and colder voice. _**If they were really yo...my friends they wouldn't have accused you of cheating.**_

_Well Tucker didn't actually say anything, _thought the more characteristically Danny voice. _And I'm sure Sam only wanted to help…"_

Danny was suddenly interrupted as he saw a bit f mist come out of his mouth.

_**E**__m__**b**__e__**r**_

…

Danny rose into the clouds and found Ember there waiting for him.

"I want my pay Venom," she yelled.

_Venom? Who's Venom, _Danny thought.

Danny felt his hand rise up almost as if by itself and blast a black tinted ball of green ghost-energy at Ember who managed to bring up a ghost shield just in time. She quickly replied with a blast from her guitar.

Suddenly Danny found that his own movements were surprising him. His body seemed to instinctively know precisely when to dodge and when to attack. Danny was amazed at how swiftly and flawlessly he was moving.

Despite this Ember continued to keep up. After all, she was one of Danny's most powerful adversaries.

Glancing at a watch on his wrist Danny noticed that he needed to get home soon or else his parents would start panicking.

_Better finish this quick, _Danny thought and prepared to unleash his Ghostly Wail.

Danny opened up his mouth and…nothing. The enormous power of the Ghostly Wail that was meant to burst from Danny's throat did not come. He stayed flying in the air, shocked at the loss of his most powerful power.

Ember took this shock as an opportunity to do some damage of her own. She turned a dial on her guitar from three to ten and unleashed a massive blast of pink ghostly shockwaves.

Before Danny could bring up a shield the blast made contact and Danny went tumbling backwards through the air.

Normally the shockwaves would have bruised Danny up pretty bad but this time it was a bit different.

It was the most severe and most bizarre physical pain Danny had ever experienced.

It felt as if something inside his chest was screaming, withering, and slashing away. Like something inside had lost it and was jerking around injured.

Ember watched in rapt fascination as the V symbol on Danny's chest seemed to flux and wither, occasionally revealing the easily recognized D hidden beneath. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.

Before Ember regained her concentration Danny attacked again.

He had been planning to release a blast of cryo-plasm but instead both he and Ember watched in shock as what looked like a thick string of ecto-energy sprang from Danny's wrist and wrapped itself around Ember's guitar.

Going purely on instinct Danny pulled his arm back as quickly as possible. Ember's guitar was pulled from her grip and Danny caught it. He quickly crushed the guitar and with his right hand reached for his Fenton Thermos.

Unexpectedly his left hand pointed towards Ember and suddenly a black jet of ghostly energy burst from the palm of his hand and immediately made contact with Ember.

She began to scream in absolute pain as bits of her ectoplasmic form came barreling off. She was literally being turned to dust.

As Danny watched this happening he tried to move his left hand in any direction other than towards Ember. His hand remained steadily pointed towards Ember.

_**Let her die, if she lives she will only continue to attack me.**_

This thought sifted its way through his mind before…

_NO!_

Danny did the only thing he could think of to stop himself and transformed back into Danny Fenton.

Danny immediately began to drop like a stone through the air. He watched with growing fear as he twisted towards the ground, doing whatever he could to slow down his fall.

Becoming desperate Danny shot out his arm and yet again the coil of ectoplasm shot from his wrist and stuck to the wall of a nearby building.

Suddenly Danny was swinging through the air, shooting out new 'ecto-webs' as he went.

_This is amazing _thought Danny, his fear of his recent loss of control forgotten. Well, forgotten until a small knife of ghost energy cut the web in half and caused Danny to tumble to the ground.

Ember was there once again, ready for another attack.

"We had a deal Venom!"

_Who the hell is Venom? _Danny thought for the umpteenth time. He quickly decided that the problem was for another day as Ember prepped for another assault.

Danny, by concentrating a massive amount of willpower, was able to once again go ghost and quickly phased through the ground.

As Danny invisibly came up behind Ember he was horrified at the damage he had already done to her. She had massive cuts all over her. Ectoplasm was pouring out of these wounds. It was the equivalent of a person heavily bleeding. But this horror disappeared as primal hunting instincts kicked in and Danny's hands sprung forward.

The new webbing Danny could now use sprang out and wrapped around Ember's throat and began to slowly squeeze the air from her ghostly lungs.

A little voice inside of Danny that sounded suspiciously like Sam was screaming at him to stop but this little voice was being drowned out by much darker voices, desperate for blood.

Ember's breathing had become very ragged now and she was clawing at the webbing, desperate to get in the breaths she so dearly need.

Death was occurring for Ember all over again, as her struggling began to end.

_DANNY STOP!_

As the voice of reason finally reached through to Danny, he immediately leapt back. The ecto-webbing quickly faded away and Ember, still gasping for air, flew away as fast as was err…physically…possible.

"Oh my God," thought Danny as he stared at the ectoplasm coating his hands. "What's happening to me?"

….

A few minutes later Danny was walking back and forth in his bedroom, psychologically shaken.

"Something has happened to me," thought Danny aloud. "It all started after that battle with Technus and Ember. This 'Venom' that Ember keeps talking about is responsible for whatever it is that's happening to me."

Danny began to reach for his phone to call Tucker and Sam.

_**They're not worth it!**_

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Silence followed and Danny dashed for the phone.

…

**A/N: Next Chapter, into the Ghost Zone. REVIEW!**


	4. The EctoVenom

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately Nickelodeon owns Danny instead of me. It's rather stupid actually because if I owned it it'd still be making money.**

**A/N: This is the one fic I am still updating since for all the others I am experiencing writers block. This chap is dedicated to Luiz4200 who has reviewed for every chapter I have written so far. REVIEW!**

**Chapter 4: Skulker and the Ecto-Venom**

**By Theta Nigma of Amity**

…but Danny had not needed to go for his phone for the help he needed had already arrived.

"Danny, we really want to talk to you!" cried Sam as she knocked on the door for what seemed to be (and what probably was) the 20th time.

Both of Danny's parents were out due to a ghost sighting and Jazz was working late at a new job she had gotten so, other than Danny, the house was empty.

Danny could quite easily hear Sam's shouting but his legs suddenly felt like they were made of lead. With a great effort that had much more to do with willpower and mental strength than any real physical motion Danny finally got his feet to follow _his _commands and he immediately burst down the stairs.

Sam and Tucker just managed to say "Danny…" before the both of them were quickly tugged into the house. The door slammed shut as the Ghost Shield was remotely activated.

…

Sam and Tucker found themselves sitting on a couple of chairs within the Fenton Family lab faster than they had previously thought physically possible.

In front of them Danny was pacing back and forth, muttering unintelligibly to himself. Finally he turned to them.

"You guys, I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you," Danny spoke these words in a way that sounded like it was hard for him to speak. "Something is happening to me. It's making me…darker."

Danny paused a while after this statement, afraid of what it was implicating. Eventually Tucker spoke up.

"Danny, we don't care what's happening to you. We're going to stick with you and help you fight….whatever this is."

It was Sam's turn to stand up. "I say we find Frostbite. Maybe he can figure out what's happening to you." Sam reached over and hit a button on one of the walls. The Spectre Speeder emerged as the portal to the Ghost Zone cracked open.

"We better get there soon," said Sam.

Danny smiled as he followed his friends into the silver transport.

Nobody noticed the black tendril that had begun to rap itself around Danny's leg.

...

The Spectre Speeder was cruising towards the icy regions of the ghost zone.

Tucker, for no apparent reason, had decided to take a nap. Sam was flying the Spectre Speeder, and Danny was…

Danny's hand suddenly shot up and knocked off one of the more important knobs within the Spectre Speeder.

Sam barely saw a sinister and uncharacteristic expression flash on Danny's face for a short second before Danny was suddenly gasping for air and rushing to help Sam keep the crashing Speeder from hitting its anti-matter surroundings.

The valiant efforts of the two teens were useless however and the ship slammed into a rock with a steel shattering bang.

Tucker suddenly burst from his short sleep to find himself and Sam being dragged out of the smoking vehicle by the still fully human Danny.

Danny set Tucker and Sam down on the ground before sitting himself onto a rock and shaking.

Sensing his pain Sam immediately ran over to Danny and pulled him into a small bear hug.

"I tried to kill you," he said as he continued to shake.

"No you didn't Danny," she said, gripping onto him. "_You _tried to save us." She dragged Danny up, still embracing him. "Let's keep moving."

The trio continued their journey into the centre of the Ghost Zone.

...

Several minutes later the trio were still walking when Danny's ghost sense went off. Looking around him Danny suddenly gained an expression on his face that spoke of some horrible recognition.

"Guys, hide." Danny said calmly and evenly as he switched into Ghost Mode. Sam and Tucker obediently hid behind the closest cover.

Danny was completely ready for combat. He didn't feel the black tendril wrapping around his other leg.

Suddenly Danny heard something moving close by and spun to face his enemy. He was completely shocked by what happened next.

...

"Jazz, do you know where Danny is."

The rest of the Fenton family had arrived home several minutes earlier to discover that the house was empty.

"Sorry mom, no idea," replied Jazz Fenton, Danny's sister. "I didn't see him leave school though, so he might still be there."

Jazz doubted that her brother was still at school. She was one of the few humans to retain a memory of the Phantom Planet incident and so believed that Danny was probably out hunting ghosts.

Jack (who had been searching the basement/lab) came running upstairs in a panic to report that the Spectre Speeder was missing.

...

Danny had managed to realize that he, Sam, and Tucker had walked straight into the centre of Skulker's lair and that Skulker was probably getting ready to jump out on them.

The way Skulker gave this greeting was entirely unexpected.

"Ghost Boy!"

Danny managed to release himself from the massive grip of the behemoth ghost, but he was very confused. The crushing grip had seemed like Skulker's idea of a...hug?

Seeing Danny's confusion Skulker began to laugh.

"Please, follow me," he said, pointing towards his ghostly home.

Skulker waited patiently for the teens to follow. Danny pulled Sam and Tucker from behind there cover and managed to convince them to follow Skulker. All three were deeply confused. Why would the ghost who had recently reached the number one spot on Danny's list of "Most Dangerous Foes" happily invite them into his home?

Seeing no other option Danny and Friends(TM) were forced to follow one of the first ghosts they had ever fought.

...

The house was pretty much what Danny had expected.

It was very hunter themed with weapons, and animal (with occasional ghost) hides lining the walls. It was a three story building mostly filled with lab space for the building and testing of high-tech weapons.

On the far wall of one of these lab spaces lay a number of cases, each with a suit for Skulker. These suits varied from Mark I-IV (Mark III being the suit Skulker was wearing and Mark IV being a half-completed prototype).

"Please sit down," said Skulker, gesturing to a coach that looked like it had just been made."

As Danny wearily sat down he noticed that a display case about his height and width had been torn apart.

Skulker sat in a thick steel chair across from the coach and gazed at the still confused teens.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Danny after a long silence. "Why are you, of all people, inviting us into your home?"

Skulker stared intently at Danny. "Because I realized something Phantom," he replied. "When you saved the world I gained a great amount of respect for you. And when you had Clockwork erase the memories of all the people on Earth to hold onto a semi-normal life AND to protect the ghost world from intruders that respect grew."

He stared meaningfully at the demolished display case. "I built that to hold you Phantom." The trio of ghost fighters immediately began squirming at this. "But then I realized that I have never been able to defeat you and that it was very unlikely I ever would."

"So you're not going to attack Amity anymore?" asked Danny hopefully.

"Precisely," replied Skulker. "In fact, I was wondering if you would accept me as your trainer. You might be lucky enough to defeat me," Skulker said, as his voice reverted back to its cocky and overconfident tone, "but there is still MUCH I can teach you."

"That'd be great," replied Danny instantly. "But you might not get the chance."

Skulker's steel eyebrows were nearly melted down as the raised towards his flaming Mohawk.

"Something's been happening to Danny lately," explained Sam. Ever since this fight he had with Technus and your girlfriend..."

"Ember's not my girlfriend anymore," put in Skulker.

"Oh," replied Sam, faking concern. "How...?"

"I tried to convince her to help me train Phantom and she left." "It's alright," he added, seeing the trio ready to give a series of fake sympathetic comments.

"Eer, well," continued Sam a bit awkwardly. "Ever since that fight it's been as if some... unknown thing is trying to push Danny into making darker decisions."

Skulker sat stroking his chin for a second, obviously in deep thought. Eventually he seemed to get an idea and he ran from the room. He returned about a minute later holding what seemed to be some sort of scanner.

"Stand please," he asked Danny who immediately stood up. Skulker began planting on numerous cables until Danny was covered with the stuff. Skulker then ran over and clicked on the machine.

As Sam and Tucker kept worrying and Danny kept wishing the cables were off Skulker watched a small screen intently, waiting patiently for the readings. What came up clearly shocked him.

Skulker walked back over to Danny as his friends began pulling out the wires.

"There is an organism living inside your gut."

At first Danny could not believe this something was inside him.

Danny didn't have more time to process this thought however as his hand shot up and shot out a particularly strong ecto-web that immediately knocked Skulker, Sam, and Tucker to the wall, trapping them there.

"What's happening?" Danny screamed as black tendrils began absorbing his body.

Sam and Tucker were only capable of staring in horror at what was happening to Danny. Skulker meanwhile was trying rather unsuccessfully to rip the ecto-webbing off of them, but he too was severely distracted by what happened next.

Black goo was pouring from Danny's mouth. This goo was slowly encasing Danny in a black exo-skeleton. As the three watched in fear Danny's screams were cut short as the goo encased his face. Danny began to try to pull off the goo but eventually it overcame him and the struggling stooped as a horrid face appeared where Danny's had been moments before.

"Ahh, full control at last."

The beast in front of them was horrible. It had Danny's figure, Danny's hair, and a darker version of Danny's costume but it was clearly not Danny.

This creature wore an all black version of Danny's costume. The symbol on its chest was not the classic D but a blood red V. It wore a cape made of the same black tendrils that had been wrapping around Danny. Its feet and hands were viciously clawed. Then there was its face which contained a mouth crammed with vicious, serrated teeth. It had blood red eyes that held no mercy, and a face as black as night.

"Finally," it spoke. It had a fierce and humourless voice. "I no longer have to worry about that foolish boy. Now I am in control and soon this world will be mine."

At about this point Skulker finally managed to eject wolverine-style claws from his wrist and tear through the webbing.

Skulker put his head down and charged towards the Not-Danny like an angry rhino. The creature easily side-stepped his attack and swung its clawed hand to rip through Skulker's back. Skulker managed to get back up and fire a pistol on his belt into the things chest.

While all of this was happening Tucker was desperately trying to drag Sam towards the Spectre Speeder.

"I can't leave Danny," she said stubbornly as she tried to hold her ground.

Skulker was desperately trying to wrestle the creature to the ground. Looking up briefly to see what was going on he quickly fired a sleeper dart into Sam's side causing her to instantly collapse. He then turned to Tucker.

"Go boy!" he said while straining to keep the creatures jaws away from his throat. "I'll hold this thing off."

Tucker needed no further encouragement and, throwing Sam over his back, ran for the Spectre Speeder.

….

Tucker had run all the way to the Speeder and had quickly begun trying to find the backup power switch for the vehicle. Finally finding it he took the ship towards the Fenton Ghost Portal.

…

If Tucker had looked back he would have noted that Skulker's house was about to collapse.

After the teens had left Skulker had managed to snap the creatures jaw back and kick it in the stomach, thus giving him some time to grab a small inventory of weapons.

The Creature soon got back up and charged towards Skulker, its hands turning into blades as it ran forward. Skulker barely managed to dodge these twin blades from decapitating his head. He immediately swung around to shoot the Creature but discovered the space empty. Suddenly a tendril wrapped around his leg and slammed him to the ground. The Creature was rising above him.

"**You are to be the first victim of the Ecto-Venom," **it spoke as its mouth opened wide, as if it were going to devour him.

"Nobody kills Skulker," Skulker spat back as he hit a button on his wrist.

Instantly supports around the house began exploding, causing the ceiling to collapse towards them.

In Ecto-Venom's shock Skulker managed to get free and run for the door. He leapt from the building just as it collapsed onto the symbiote still trapped within.

Skulker quickly activated a jetpack on his back and took off for the Fenton Portal/

As he left a black fist erupted from the rubble.

...

Tucker flew the Spectre Speeder straight into the far wall of the Fenton Lab as he narrowly missed crashing into the Fenton Family.

Tucker dragged himself and the now semi-conscious Sam from the smoking craft. The Fenton's stared at the two in shock for quite a while before Jazz managed to speak.

"Where's Danny."

Skulker chose that moment to jet threw the portal. He gazed inside for a second with a look of fear on his face as if the Devil himself was heading towards the entrance. Finally he managed to gain some semblance of concentration and immediately pulled the portal doors closed with his bare hands.

Skulker was trying to save lives but Jack, who believed all ghosts to be evil, immediately pointed the Fenton Ghost Bazooka at Skulkers chest.

"What have you done with my son Ghost?"

As Jack prepared to shoot loud bangs suddenly started coming from the other side of the portal. Skulker immediately spread his arms out to prevent anything from tearing through the portal.

"Listen to me human," spoke Skulker menacingly. "There is a creature on the other side of this door more powerful than anything I have ever encountered and it is the thing that has your son. Now help me save lies!"

"Nothing can get through those doors," Jack said confidently. "Nothing."

In response to Jack's statement blood-curdling laughter began coming from the other side of the portal.

A bulge appeared against the steel of the door and with a sudden screeching noise a black bladed hand appeared through a crack in the steel and tore straight through Skulker's cybernetic arm.

As Skulker collapsed the doors to the Fenton Portal burst outwards and every ghost Danny Phantom had ever thought came streaming through and, going intangible, ascended through the ceiling and prepared to reek havoc on Amity.

In all this chaos Venom walked calmly forward. Seeing this new threat Jack fired the bazooka. A large hole appeared in Venom's chest and the projectile went straight through it. Venom then raised a hand and with a flick of his wrist a tendril extended forward and turned the weapon into a pile of ash.

Skulker managed to pull himself up but no sooner was he standing when Venom grabbed him around the throat and held him up high.

"**You accept that someone as weak as the boy could defeat you but still you fight me,"** it hissed. **"You should join me like your fellows."**

Skulker replied by spitting in its face and saying: "I have honour. I will never join you."

Venom through Skulker across the room with rage. It's arms were crackling with a hellish ghost energy.

"**Then stay with the humans and watch this city burn."**

A minute later Fenton Works exploded.

…

**A/N: Longest. Chapter. EVER! REVIEW!**


	5. Give Up All Hope

**Disclaimer: Do you really think Danny Phantom would be cancelled if **_**I **_**owned it?**

**A/N: It's getting dark. I am turning this from the fic of Danny Phantom, the hero of a kids cartoon, into Reaper, a dark superhero fic (with some humour occasionally-after Venom is taken care of). You have been warned.**

**Chapter 5: Give Up All Hope…**

**By Theta Sigma of Amity**

The city was in flames.

Amity Park was no longer a place of amity. The ghosts had taken over within seconds and most of the population had evacuated. Those who hadn't were either trying to find shelter or fleeing for there lives from the tirade of ghosts.

From every corner ghosts were popping out and giving people a good scare. They were very happy.

Venom however, was not.

"**Fools**," he muttered as a ghost caused a young woman and her child to run with a simple 'boo'.

Venom quickly descended in front of the pair cutting of there retreat. Obviously expecting another boo the woman tried to stand tall cradling her son.

Quick as a flash Venom's still bladed arm came up and ripped the woman's arm from her shoulder, insuring her death. The boy (about twelve years old), seeing what had happened to his mother, began screaming.

Venom charged up a blast of energy but then stopped as he gazed into the young boys eyes. Suddenly feeling pity Venom lowered his hand. "**Take your mother and run boy**," he spoke. **"Your race has little time left."**

Not bothering to see if the boy listened Venom once again took to the skies and continued. This world was going to be his.

….

Fenton Works was a ruin. No normal human beings could have survived that sort of explosion.

Luckily, none of the people in the building had ever fit the definition of normal.

An eerie green light suddenly began to emerge from holes within the rubble. All of a sudden every piece of rubble was blown backwards to reveal all human occupants hiding in the corner while Skulker had his hand held in front of him.

"Note to self: defence shield is VERY powerful," he muttered to himself before turning to his fellow survivors.

"In case the message hasn't gotten through your fic carbon-based heads I am on your side!"

The others could only dumbly nod as Skulker fished his decapitated arm from the rubble and connected it back into his side.

Sam chose this moment to finally fully regain consciousness and immediately shouted out the most important thing in the universe-to her at least.

"DANNY!"

This was enough to get Danny's parents to begin asking questions again.

"If you're an our side then where is our son?" asked Jack.

Skulker paused for a second, unsure of what to tell them. Finally he said: "That thing-Venom-has your son. We neutralize him, you'll get your son back."

With that he shouldered his gun and began to lead them into the apocalyptic city.

...

Within one of the most evil places in existence a young halfa was struggling to stand.

He eventually succeeded in pushing himself up and glanced around the room. There was nothing but a blinding darkness that reeked of evil.

"Is anyone there," asked Danny hopelessly.

Well, not quite hopelessly for not a second had passed after he spoke before a small flickering light appeared. Illuminated by this small glow was an arch, leading to yet more darkness. Seeing no alternative Danny began to walk towards the arch but stopped suddenly.

Above the arch was inscribed the words: _Give Up All Hope Ye Who Enter Here._

Danny began to turn back but, somehow sensing that his loved ones were in danger, continued on.

…

Venom, gazing down upon his first conquest, laughed. He laughed because he could sense the horrors Danny was about to experienced trapped in there shared consciousness.

He was distracted from his musing by a well-shot blast of energy passing by his side.

Turning, his gaze fell on the Red Huntress.

She obviously recognized the general scheme of the costume saying: ``Nice upgrade Phantom, but you still won't be able to defeat me!``

Venom laughed in her face. ``First off little girl the `Phantom` you speak of is now no more then an extension of my will. Second off, according to his memories you have never defeated him.``

Valerie, angered by this comment, wildly fired another blast.

Venom easily sidestepped this poor shot. ``Come on, you can do better then that,`` he taunted.

Valerie replied to this comment by firing everything she had. Out of all these projectiles one of them must have made contact because Venom was suddenly falling onto the roof of a nearby building.

Venom smashed through several floors before regaining control and flying straight back up. He viciously slammed into Valerie who had been preparing to descend after him. The young ghost hunter lost her jetted transport as she collapsed onto the rooftop.

Venom descended before her.

``I could use someone like you Huntress,`` Venom said as he watched Valerie get back to her feet.

``I`d never join you,`` Valerie spat back. She prepared to once again start fighting but didn`t look to confident as Venom began walking towards her.

``I wasn`t asking,`` he replied as a tendril emerged from his wrist and began to reach towards her…

…

Danny had walked through the empty darkness for what felt like hours before he finally came across something other than the endless darkness.

Danny saw a figure standing far off in the shadows. He began to walk towards her before he suddenly recognized the figure and began running.

"SAM!"

Running towards the figure Danny slipped and suddenly fell right _through _Sam.

The whatever-it-was suddenly reformed and began speaking to Danny.

"I'm not Sam Danny," the Not-Sam said. "I am a representation of your own unconscious mind being displayed in the form of the thing you cherish most."

"Where am I?" Danny asked, frightened.

"You are in your own head Danny," his unconscious spoke. "You have been trapped her by the creature called Venom who is currently using your body to bring Amity to ruins." 

As she said this a picture of the outside world suddenly appeared within the room. It should Amity Park on fire, with the citizens running for their lives. Above all of this was Venom, who seemed to be controlling the crumbling of Amity with mere gestures of his hand.

After a moment the image faded from view and Danny was left alone with his own mind.

"Danny," she spoke again. "There is only one way out of this internal prison. You must continue through your own mind, which has been twisted by Venom. You will receive very few allies. You will not go through this journey unscathed." The representation paused, as if afraid of what it had to say next. Finally it spoke. "Your very soul may be destroyed."

Danny gulped and shook. As he stood there he realized that the "evils" he had faced did not come close to being a scared little kitty compared to what he was now facing. He didn't stand a chance.

But then he thought of all the people who were suffering. His thoughts momentarily shifted to the real Sam, who was trapped within the doomed city.

"Which way?" he asked.

His mind gestured towards a door at the far end of the room.

…

Danny ran through the door and then stopped dead at what he saw.

From horizon to horizon everything was like some kind of twisted carnival. The whole world was colourful and filled with tents and displays. Cotton Candy stands stood everywhere and carnival games were abundant. But it was wrong.

Everything was somehow twisted and dark. The whole thing looked blackened and decayed, the carnival music sent a shiver down the spine, and children's laughter could be heard from every corner, despite the fact the place was clearly deserted.

Suddenly Danny saw a shadow shift out of the corner of his eye. Moving towards it Danny noticed more shadows shifting.

Before he could even blink creatures beyond description surrounded Danny. It looked like the may have once been merry beings by the looks of there clothing, but other then these subtle reminders that past had disappeared.

They had long ago been twisted by darkness, leaving behind there origins. If Danny even tried to explain what these creatures looked like he would be stopped dead. They were as far from anything normal or kind in both appearance and mannerisms then anything that had ever existed.

Suddenly they leapt forward, lunging at him with tooth and claw. Danny raised a shield to protect himself but the beasts tore through it like tissue paper. Danny began blasting at the creatures with all his might but it was clearly no good, the beasts just kept coming.

One of them finally managed to wrap its mouth around Danny's arm. Desperately Danny froze the creatures head and smashed its face. However, this only momentarily stopped the creatures. Danny knew there was no chance he could defeat these beasts yet still he thought, desperate to succeed.

In a sudden moment of luck a howl was heard in the distance and the beasts suddenly stopped there assault and ran off towards the source of the call.

One beast was not strong enough to move and lay, dying.

Danny was finally able to get a good look at his enemies and immediately recoiled. Despite the fact it had transformed far from its intended nature Danny was somehow able to see what the beast had once been: human.

The creature continued to whimper and Danny felt a need to help the creature. Then he shook his head. "It's not real," he said. "Anyway, it's not like it would help me if our situations were reversed."

Despite what he said Danny continued to stand there and the creature continued to whimper.

Finally Danny turned around and kneeled by the creature, examining its wound. He pushed his hands against the wound, cauterizing it closed.

The blood stopped flowing from the creature and it suddenly leapt up, attacking its saviour.

Before it could bite down on Danny, a second howl was heard and the beast rushed away. Danny managed to push himself up and began to move forward, continuing his journey.

A journey through his own personal hell.

…

**A/N: I did warn you. REVIEW!**


	6. What Lies Within The Hearts Of Men

**Disclaimer: What is the point of these disclaimers anyway? Are all the true owners of these characters going to sue us for having some harmless fun?**

**A/N: SORRY! I have been busy lately but I was finally able to get back on track so here is your next chapter.**

**Chapter 6: What Lies Within The Hearts of Men**

**By Theta Nigma of Amity**

Danny trudged through the recesses of his own mind. Everywhere he looked he saw the horrors surrounding him, like a child's dream turned into a horrible nightmare.

The young hero finally spotted something different on the horizon. A massive building contrasted with the barren land and the rotten and twisted circus tents surrounding it.

Slowly, Danny walked towards the distant building, all the while feeling a heaviness growing on his heart.

…

"Tucker, what are we going to do?"

Skulker had led the group through the city in search of Venom. As they ha continued marching forward, it had become painfully obvious that the city was collapsing. Everywhere the looked lay burning buildings, fleeing civilians, and dozens of corpses, all with a look of complete terror etched upon their faces.

Sam and Tucker had pulled to back of the group and were currently trying to figure out what to do, but no possible solutions ha come up and Sam was beginning to consider the idea of the end.

"I'm sure we'll be able to figure out something Sam," replied Tucker although he to could see no way out. "No matter how badly things have gotten we've been able to fix it.

"But things have NEVER gotten even close to this bad," she whispered back worriedly. "I've never even seen a corpse until today and now there are dead people everywhere! I'm nearly sure that any second now we're going to turn a corner and suddenly end up joining them!"

Just as Sam finished this exclamation, she and Tucker slammed into the rest of the group. Skulker had stopped the group in front of a clearing and was currently surveying the area, clearly expecting trouble.

"Why are we standing here waiting," shouted Jack Fenton suddenly, clearly frustrated. "I need to find my son now!" And with that he pushed past Skulker and began running straight into the clearing, parental concern blinding his common sense.

"Get back here you fool!" screamed Skulker. Suddenly the air filled with a terrible screeching scream and all could feel the evil approaching.

"GET BACK!"

….

Danny stood before the building, shivering in its presence. Beside the building hung a sign that read 'The Castle of Laughter' but a snake-like S had been carved into the sign, making it the Castle of Slaughter.

Gulping, and thinking of all the people who were in danger and needed his help, Danny marched into the castle prepared for the worst.

Daniel walked through the entrance in a defensive stance, ready for anything. Daniel continued forward until he reached the end of the hallway, where he found himself surrounded by mirrors.

Looking down Daniel was shocked at his appearance. His hazmat suit had turned into a darker and more armoured suit, his muscles had expanded in size, and he realized as he looked at his reflection, that he was much older. His face appeared to be that of a man in his mid-twenties with a small goatee upon his chin, similar to that of his dark futuristic counterpart. His eyes held a quality Daniel had only seen in men far past there prime.

Shocked, Daniel stepped back, only to fall into yet another room full of mirrors. However, unlike the mirrors of the previous rooms these were not straight but lay twisted where they stood.

Stepping towards one of these mirrors Daniel gaze into its reflective surface, fearing what he knew he would see. Just as Daniel had expected he gazed at his own reflection only to see the creature that had been dubbed Dark Dan.

Suddenly a voice emerged from his memory. '_Me. I'm inevitable!' _

"NO!" Daniel screamed as he smashed the mirror with his fist. But the image of his dark future did not break, instead the room around him shattered as the mirror itself remained completely undamaged, as if it was mocking him by saying that the future shown upon its surface was unstoppable.

Daniel began to hear whispers coming from the room around him, hissing, telling him of the death and destruction that was to come and that it must come. However, this dark voice was not the only voice he heard. His mind had become poisoned by the horrors of Venom's own yet a piece of Daniel remained pure, a bright like in the darkness.

But this was not the voice Daniel heard.

"HELP!" cried a voice in the distance, clearly terrified. Pushing all other thoughts aside Daniel concentrated on that need for help and blasted from the small castle, not truly leaving the darkness within behind.

An inhuman screech was heard as the damaged structure collapsed in on itself in a massive explosion of both dark and light energy, leaving a scar upon the landscape where it ha once stood.

…

Jack Fenton refused to listen to the ghost shouting at him to retreat. His son was in danger and nothing seemed more important to him then going forward and finding him.

Suddenly Jack too heard the screeching that was coming from the air and shivered. Jack was normally a very brave man when any member of his family was in danger but the noise he heard coming towards him was easily enough to get him to stop in his tracks.

Zooming towards him was a shape he recognized, the Red Huntress.

Something still felt wrong to Jack. If it was the Red Huntress coming towards them to help out then where had the screeching come from?

His answer came as the Red Huntress came closer and he finally regained the sense to run.

The thing coming towards him was speeding up and it was clearly not coming to ask if they needed assistance. Just seconds before the thing made contact Skulker rushed forward, jetpack ready, and slammed with all his force into the creature, knocking it off its transport.

Slamming on top of it, Skulker managed to pin the creature and see exactly what he was fighting. He immediately recoiled at the sight before him. The creature _was _the Red Huntress but her suit had become black with a spider-like symbol upon its chest. But what had really caused Skulker to recoil was the parasitic creature stuck to her face.

The Poisoned Huntress took Skulkers shock as an opportunity and quickly knocked Skulker off her and straight into a nearby tree that stood in the clearing. Sparks flying from his back Skulker struggled to stand.

Not giving him a seconds rest the corrupted hero immediately rushed him, holding a blade of ghost-damaging metal in each hand. As she came in swinging Skulker managed to finally push himself up, dodging and weaving in between her well-aimed slashes. As she came in for another strike, Skulker flipped over her outstretched hands. Unfortunately, the Huntress was prepared for this and a _third arm _spawning from the symbiote on her face slashed him across the shoulder, forcing him to kneel in pain.

"Alright," he whispered, "no more Mr. Hero!"

Quick as a flash he slammed his elbow into the Huntress' face, straight into the center of the symbiote. Before Valerie could recover Skulker ejected the claws from his wrest and slashed her across her chest, leaving to shallow scars.

Screeching with fury the Huntress charged, moving like a blur, slamming her weapons into every spot she could reach. Finally, she stopped and stepped back as Skulker collapsed, barely breathing.

The Poisoned Huntress turned to leave, clearly thinking herself victorious. Behind her Skulker knelt on the ground, staring at the stump that used to be his right hand and watched it spark as the damage wires hanging from the destroyed appendage spent its energy.

"I hope this hurts you more then it hurts me girl," he coughed out before slamming the stump into Valerie's back. Ecto-electrical power began conducting itself threw them, lighting them both up like some kind of deadly firework. They both screamed in fury and pain, nearing complete and permanent death as each second passed. Finally, the Huntress collapsed and Skulker struggled to his feet before quickly pulling out a small hand gun. His face showed a deadly seriousness as he aimed it at our skull.

Just as he fired Sam leapt forward and knocked him to the ground, causing the shot to go wild and skim past Valerie.

"What are you doing?" Skulker demanded as he stood up and faced Sam.

"Saving an innocent life," replied Sam with steely resolve. "Valerie wasn't the one attacking you and you know it. If that's"-she lowered her voice as she continued speaking-"if that's what you're planning on doing to Danny then I should-" She paused, unsure of what she could possibly do to Skulker.

Skulker was unsure of whether he should laugh at her pathetic attempt at defiance or commend her for her bravery. Finally, he merely assured her he would do no such thing before tying the Huntress to a tree and, finding the trail of carnage once again, led the group further into the darkness.

…

Speeding through his own mind at speeds he had never been able to achieve Daniel sped towards the distance cry for help, trying to reach it before it was too late.

Finally, Daniel arrived at the source of the plea and paused, hanging over the largest and most twisted circus tent he had encountered thus far. From this angle, he could see it looked like it was meant to be shaped like a clowns face but it ha become so decayed and twisted that it now resembled the skulls of the beasts that wandered this landscape.

Without hesitating, Daniel descended towards the tent, tearing through its tattered roof to observe the hell beneath.

There were stands circling the inside of the tent, an the seats were all packed with the corpses of a laughing audience. They all sat there, rotting with frozen grins of laughter upon there faces.

Daniel was pulled from this nightmare inducing sight by another scream from below. Looking down Daniel saw an army of the horrific creatures that dominated this land, all closing in on…

"Freakshow," Daniel whispered in shock. Then suddenly he understood. "My Hell, my worst fears realized. This is what would have happened if I lost, if I died and Freakshow won."

Daniel prepared to go, leaving Freakshow to his fate, when the ground began to rumble. Massive cracks appeared all around as the Earth began to shake as a monstrous fist erupted from the ground.

Distracted by all that was going on Daniel failed to notice the creature that had taken note of his appearance and had managed to claw its way to the top of the tent. Before Daniel could react the creature leapt onto his back and knocked him into the midst of the creature clawing its way out of the earth.

Finally, the creature stood before Daniel, supporting its massive form on two legs unlike the four legged creatures of the same species that surrounded him.

As the creature marched forward Daniel recognized bits of orange material sticking to its hulking form. Daniel realized with a flash of horror what this creature was meant to have been.

It was his father, Jack Fenton.

The once peaceful yet clumsy man, turned monster, slammed its fist into the ground knocking Daniel down with the shockwave. It barred its fangs as it marched forward, ready to crush its offspring.

Daniel backed up in fear as he pleaded with the beast.

"Dad, I know you're in there," Daniel spoke to the destructive thing in front of him. "Please, STOP!"

Ignoring Daniels pleading the beast knocked him inside, into the crater from whence it had come.

Landing roughly in the crater Daniel gazed below him, and had to cover up his own triumphant cry, for right below him was the exit.

Daniel prepared to exit, leaving the horrors within this place behind him. As he neared the exit Daniel heard Freakshow crying.

"Please spare me," the man pleaded in between screams. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Gazing at the exit Daniel whispered to himself, "What kind of hero am I."

With a look of great strength and resolve upon his face, Daniel leapt from the hole and went to save the ex-villain, eyes blazing with raw power.

Seeing him coming one of the creatures leapt forward, jaws working. As it got close, Daniel grabbed its head and crushed its skull instantly. Another leapt, mouth wide open. Daniel took it out with a shot straight down its throat, vaporizing all its internal organs. Another lunged and Daniel slammed his fist into its side, causing it to explode into a bunch of gory pieces.

Rushing forward, Daniel tore through hordes of the beasts, blasts of dark green energy erupting around him.

The surviving beasts fled, except for one.

The thing that had once been Daniel's father turned towards him as Daniel rushed it, slamming into its chest and leaving two massive indents in the chest of the Creature.

Howling in rage and pain the Creature swung its fists wildly, trying to hit its target. Daniel slid through its attacks and leapt forward to strike it on the jaw. When the Creature looked back at him, its jaw was lopsided.

Charging, the Creature knocked Daniel to the ground before landing on top of him and slamming its fists repeatedly into Daniel's form. With a precise shot, Daniel knocked the beast back.

"I can't beat…this thing with normal combat," coughed Daniel. "I need to take _IT _out of commission." Looking around Daniel suddenly came up with an idea.

"Hey, big and ugly, over here!" he shouted at the Creature who turned its head. Seeing its prey it charged forward, determined to kill.

Just before it slammed into him, Daniel released a precise blast into its eyes, blinding it. Unable to see it continued to charge forward as Daniel dodged out of its path. Before it could stop itself, it slammed into one of the supports holding up the tent.

As the world collapsed around them Daniel ran over to the still shaking Freakshow. "Oh thank you," he cried, hugging Daniel. "I thought…

Whatever Freakshow was about to say was cut off as Daniel picked him up one handed and tossed him into the portal embedded in the ground.

Daniel stepped forward, preparing to follow Freakshow, but before he could even approach the portal his path was blocked by the creature that had once been his father.

The beast was determined to prevent him from escaping and would not stop until it was dead. Daniel knew what he had to do.

"I'm sorry Dad," Daniel whispered as his very skin began to glow with inner power.

Without hesitating, the beast charged forward to kill its prey. At the same time Daniel charge forward, a look of great sadness visible upon his face.

The beast lunged, ready to squash its prey, as Daniel leapt forward and with a massive exertion of power, tore straight through the beasts chest, killing it instantly.

Without looking back, Daniel continues his flight and dived straight down through the portal, going deeper and deeper into Hell.

…

**A/N: Could you just imagine that, having to kill one of your own loved one's? Danny's journey is clearly not for the faint of heart.**

**What will Danny discover as he digs deeper into his own twisted psyche? What trials does he have yet to face?**

**A/N2: The next chapter will be dedicated to the reviewer who guesses what I based the Castle of (S)laughter on.**


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